About Cho Dai D

This game is hugely popular in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. The standard game is played by 4 players, where each player will get 13 cards. The first player who gets rid of all his cards win the round.

Rules

1. At the beginning the game, the player who has the smallest card. 3 Diamond will start the game first. Subsequently, the winner will start the next round (This rule may vary).

2. The game proceeds anti-clockwise. Upon his turn, the player can either play a bigger card or pass.

3. If 3 players pass in succession, the player with the last play can make the call and play which any combinations he prefers. In this case, the below combinations are the biggest available and the player making this play can automatically proceed with his next play.

4. 4. Any player with only a card left, the player before him must “guard” him, which means he must play the largest single card he has in his hand. If he decides not to play his biggest card, he will be paying the penalty (he needs to pay for the other 2 players) if the player with the last card wins. But of course, this rule does not apply if that player decides to play pairs, triplets or 5-card combi.

 

Immediate Win

There are some combinations which are considered immediate wins upon receiving the 13 cards. The player with these combinations will claim maximum payouts from the other 3 players. However this rule varies from different players and must be agreed before starting the game.

 

1. Getting four 2s among the 13 cards. The chance of getting this hand is 1 in 379.

2. One Dragon – This hand consists of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A & 2. There are no pairs and the all the cards can be of different suits. The chance of getting this hand is 1 in 9462.

3. One Green Dragon – This hand is the same as One Dragon except the cards are of the same suit. This hand is almost impossible to achieve.

Voiding the Round

Some players have this rule that upon receiving, there are not a single “pictures” among the 13 cards (ie no J, Q and K), the player can ask for a reshuffle. This rule should be agreed among the players before starting the game.

 

Cards Combination

1. Single Card

a. Biggest is 2 Spade

b. Smallest is 3 Diamond

c. Order of suit is Spade Heart Club Diamond (the order is Spade Heart Diamond Club in Taiwan)

 

2. Pairs

a. Biggest is Pair of 2

b. Smallest is Pair of 3

c. When matched, the pair with a bigger suit dominates (eg A Spade + A Club wins A Heart + A Diamond)

 

3. Three of a Kind

1. a. Biggest is Trips of 2
2. b. Smallest is Trips of 3
3. Not all players accept playing Three of a Kind. This should be agreed among all players at the beginning of the game.

 

4. 5 Cards Combi

a. Biggest is Royal Flush

b. Smallest is Straight

c. The ranking is the same as Poker:

i. Straight

ii. Flush

iii. Full House

iv. Four of a Kind

v. Straight Flush

vi. Royal Flush

d. Double Pairs and Three of a Kind are not allowed

e. For Straight, there are several variations:

   A 2 3 4 5 wins 2 3 4 5 6 wins 10 J Q K A … wins 3 4 5 6 7

   2 3 4 5 6 wins A 2 3 4 5 wins 10 J Q K A … wins 3 4 5 6 7

   10 J Q K A … wins 3 4 5 6 7 wins 2 3 4 5 6 wins A 2 3 4 5

The specific variation should be agreed among all players before starting the game. When matched, the pair with a bigger suit dominates (eg A 2 3 4 5 of Spade wins A 2 3 4 5 of Heart).

f. For Flush, the flush with the largest card (among the 5 cards) will call the shot (eg K 9 6 5 3 of Club wins Q J 9 8 6 of Diamond). However, if the first cards of both hands are the same, the second card will be the key; if the second cards are the same, the third card will be the key, and so on. In cases when all cards are evenly matched, the flush with a bigger suit dominates (eg K J 9 6 5 of Club wins K J 9 6 5 of Diamond).

g. For Full House, the value of the trips calls the shot, regardless of the value of the pair (eg K K K 4 4 wins J J J A A).

h. For Four of a Kind, the value of the 4 cards of the same number calls the shot, regardless of the kicker. Some players consider this is a special hand and the player with this hand goes on to win the game, will collect extra payout. However, this rule may vary.

i. For Straight Flush, the rule of order is a combination of the rules of Straight and Flush.

eg. 7 8 9 10 J of Spade wins 4 5 6 7 8 of Spade

and 9 10 J Q K of Spade wins 9 10 J Q K of Club

j. For Royal Flush, the hands are determined by the suit Spade Heart Club Diamond.

 

The common rule of 5-Card combination is that the higher order always wins, just like poker. But in some variations, the combinations can only be beaten by others of the same combinations, eg. to win a flush is to use a flush of a higher card/suit.

 

Scoring System

 

Different players have different scoring systems.

Two of the most common systems are:

At the point where there’s a winner emerges, the player with:

1. 13 cards pays triple, 10-12 cards pays double, less than 10 cards pays one time (meaning if you are stuck with eg 11 cards when one of the player wins the game, you need to pay for 22 cards).

2. 13 cards pay 4X, 10-12 cards pays triple, 8-9 cards pays double, less than 8 cards pays one time.

 

Additionally, according to this system:

1. The winner collects the difference from each of the remaining 3 players (eg if 2nd player has 3 cards left at the end of round, he will need to pay 3 cards difference to the winner).

2. The 2nd player collects the difference from the 3rd and 4th players but pays his difference to the winner.

3. The 3rd player collects the difference from the 4th player but pays his differences to the winner and the 2nd player.

4. The 4th (last) player pays his differences to all the remaining players. In this case, he will be the largest loser, and is made worse if he has more than 8 or 10 cards (as stated earlier), eg he will have to pay double of his differences to each of the 3 players if he happens to have 11 cards at the end of round.

At the beginning of the game, the players must agree on the stake of the differences.

 

The total profits must be equal to the total losses.

 

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